End-Times Archives - Page 19 of 19 - The New Antisemitism

December 13, 2017 By Olivier Melnick 2 Comments

The Blood Libel: A Twenty-First Century “Medieval ” Myth Against the Jews

Blood has a very important role in the Bible. It was through the shedding of blood that the Levitical sacrificial system functioned (Leviticus 17:11, 2 Chronicles 30:16.) Animals had to be split or sacrificed and their blood poured on the altar throughout the year or the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur. That is of course until AD 70, when the Jerusalem Temple was destroyed rendering any sacrifice impossible. Blood also plays an important part in the laws of kashrut (the kosher laws.) Jewish people are required to drain all the blood from the meat they consume. This is based on a biblical principle also found in the Bible (Genesis 9:4, Leviticus 17:12, Deuteronomy 15:23.) So as a result, religious Jewish people go to great lengths to make sure no blood is left.

In spite of all this, one of the oldest myths created against the Jewish people persists today. It is a myth that is almost 900 years old. The twelfth century introduced this new charge against the Jews that would be added to the list of reasons why they should be converted, ostracized, abused, or even killed. This new charge was fabricated from beginning to end for the sole purpose of stigmatizing Jewish people further into a demonized state. It is also known as the “Blood Libel” or “Blood Accusation.”

A broad definition of the Blood Libel is the following proposition: “The Jews would commit an official murder of a Christian, preferably a child, during Holy Week for ritual purposes.” More than 150 false charges of blood libel were recorded throughout history, resulting in the death of Jewish people (mostly during the Middle Ages). Some people even went as far as claiming that the collected blood of Christian children was used to make matzoh (the unleavened bread used for Passover.)

The first claim of the Blood Libel recorded came out of Norwich, England, in 1141 as recorded in the Catholic Encyclopedia.The dead body of a boy was found on Good Friday. The boy was later referred to as William of Norwich. The testimony of a monk (Thomas of Monmouth) was the only record of the event. No proof was ever found to substantiate the accusation.

The William murder was responsible for the crowd attacking a Jewish delegation coming to the coronation of Richard the Lionhearted in 1189. The following year, most of the Jews of Norwich were slaughtered in the village. More accusation of ritual murders and blood libels followed the first one throughout England. Jews were eventually expelled from England in 1290, and they were not allowed to return until 1655 under Oliver Cromwell.

The ritual murder libel claims picked up momentum across the Channel in France and then Germany. In France, in 1187, Jews were burned for failing the water test (the accused would either sank or remain afloat depending if they were lying or not while submerged in a tub of Holy Water).

The charge later re-emerged in Poland in the late eighteenth century, as well as the late nineteenth century in France, Germany, and Russia (1911). The same accusation has appeared more recently, in New York in 1928, in Nazi propaganda during WWII, and even in a booklet entitled “Jewish Ritual Murder” published in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1962.

While it is absolutely ludicrous and impossible to prove, it continues to be propagated today, mostly in the Middle East by anti-Semitic Muslims indoctrinated early to hate the Jews. Occasionally, it resurfaces in places where we less expect it, as is the case of the recent events that took place in Eastern Europe in November 2017. A Russian bishop close to President Putin re-introduced the idea that Csar Nicholas II and his family were killed by Jews in a ritual murder. It is a historical fact that the chief perpetrator of Czar Nicholas II was Yakov Mikhailovich Yurovsky, who was Jewish. Accusing Yurovsky of ritual murder is akin to holding all Jews responsible for the killing of Jesus when just a few within the leadership of Israel were involved along with the leadership of Rome and Roman soldiers. In reality, Jesus gave His own life for all (John 10:17-18.)

Yurovsky was a killer who happened to be Jewish and NOT a killer because he was Jewish. Additionally, there is no proof that the killing of Nicholas II and his family was a blood ritual any more than the very first accusation 876 years ago. Unfortunately, factual truth is not required when anti-semitism strikes, and it isn’t even required by those witnessing acts of anti-semitism.

The “Blood Libel” is one of the oldest and longest lasting lies against the Jewish people. It is sad that there would still be people to propagate it but even sadder that there are also people left to believe it. It is considered part of classic anti-semitism, culminating in racial Jew-hatred, which was believed to have ceased after the Holocaust. It was replaced by the New anti-semitism in the name of social justice and human rights. Who would have thought that the two branches of the same weed would intertwine and become stronger as “End-Times anti-semitism?”

For more, make sure to get a copy of my latest book: End-Times Antisemitism-A New Chapter In The Longest Hatred

November 2, 2017 By Olivier Melnick Leave a Comment

The Balfour Declaration – A Thorn in the Flesh of Political Correctness!

Little did Lord Arthur Balfour (1848-1930) know when he penned his declaration, that much of the world would be in an uproar about it, 1oo years later. His short letter to Lord Rothschild on behalf of the Jewish people became a pillar in the foundation of the modern state of Israel. The 1917 Balfour Declaration established that because of the “historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine,” The Jewish people were entitled to return to the area. The statement was unequivocal: “His Majesty’s Government views with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object.”

The Balfour Declaration is a document that should have been foundational in the world’s recognition of Israel’s right for self-determination within the boundaries of her own historical and biblical land of Eretz Yisrael. It was followed by another equally important but lesser known agreement including the original Balfour text, known as the San Remo Resolution, where the Mandate for Palestine was drawn together (land boundaries were decided four years later.) As a result of the San Remo Resolution being drafted, Great Britain ended-up being responsible for the drawing of the Mandate and land boundaries for Palestine. This became later known as the “British Mandate for Palestine,” and led to the 1947 United Nations vote in favor of Resolution 181 and the partitioning of Palestine between Jews and Arabs. It must be noted that the term “Palestine” as used in the Balfour Declaration and San Remo Resolution, is merely the name of a Middle East geographical boundary known as the Land of Israel today. The word then was not as politically charged as it is today. On May 14, 1948, under the leadership of David Ben Gurion, one day before the end of the British Mandate, Israel became a modern nation. Within hours five neighboring Arab countries declared war on the newborn Jewish state, and Israel has been in a state of war ever since.

I cannot help but think of the different outcome we would have witnessed if Israel had been reborn out of the San Remo Conference of 1920 instead of 1948, but it was not part of God’s plan. Israel’s right to self-determination was agreed upon 97 years ago and shouldn’t be put in question. God remains sovereign over all. Much water has gone under that bridge since and history appears different today. But the reason why it seems changed is that the agenda for Israel’s destruction has been pushed harder since the mid-60s. Palestine is no longer just the name of a geographical area to be restituted to the Jewish people, but it has been made into a country with displaced people painted as the sole victims of the Middle East conflict.

We are now in November 2017, precisely 100 years after the Balfour Declaration was penned. As it is so well described in the Bob Dylan song, Israel is now overwhelmingly seen by the world as “The Neighborhood Bully.” the tiny Jewish state is the constant target of various governments, organizations, celebrities and church denominations because they believe that Israel is the problem in the Middle East. And so, the Balfour Declaration–and by proxy Israel–is under attack!

• In 2016, Mahmoud Abbas decided to sue Britain over the Balfour Declaration and has asked many Arab nations to join his endeavor.
• Britain’s leader of the opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn–who is also a blatant antisemite– decided not to attend the country’s 100 year Balfour declaration Celebration.
• Columbia University professor of Modern Arab Studies, Rashid Khalidi held a lecture titled ““The Balfour Declaration from the Perspective of its Victims.”

Israel’s foes are looking at the Balfour Declaration as a declaration of war against Palestinians. We are told that “Palestinian victims” mourn the loss of their “native” land. The narrative goes on, and the world goes along for the ride. In reality, since 1917, Israel had repeatedly agreed to split the land into two states. Even in 2000, at Camp David, when it could have been a political and existential disaster when Ehud Barak agreed to give away more than 95% of the West Bank and all of the Gaza Strip, Arafat said NO! Every single time, the Palestinian leaders delivered an emphatic NO to the two-state solution, and that is because it is not an option for them. The only viable option as they see it is a Palestinian State with no Jews at all. And as frustrating as it might be, it is becoming the majority opinion globally, because today when it comes to Israel and the Jewish people, fact-finding is the last thing that people are interested in! Not to mention the many prophecies that were fulfilled in 1948 when Israel was reborn. Here are some of these prophecies from the Tanach:

1. Jacob’s descendants would regain control of Israel – Amos 9:14-15
2. Israel would be brought back to life – Ezekiel 37:10-14
3. Isaiah spoke of an Israel being reborn in one day – Isaiah 66:7-8
4. Israel would be re-established as a united nation – Ezekiel 37:21-22
5. The second Israel would be more impressive than the first – Jeremiah 16:14-15
6. Ezekiel predicted when Israel would be re-established – Ezekiel 4:3-6
7. The people of Israel would return to “their land” – Ezekiel 34:13
8. God would watch over the people of Israel – Jeremiah 31:10
9. Israel’s army would be disproportionately powerful – Leviticus 26:3, 7-8
10.The fortunes of the people of Israel would be restored – Deuteronomy 30:3-5

The Balfour Declaration has become a thorn in the flesh of our politically correct western societies. They want it gone as one more step towards the collapsing of Israel. I would suggest that in and of itself, that Declaration makes a strong case for the self-determination of Israel based on its biblical pre-existence. Compounded with the San Remo Resolution of 1920, it picks up a lot of momentum that is also reinforced by a plethora of Bible passages. In other words, the Declaration only validated from a human perspective what the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had vindicated long ago from within His divine decree. David Ben Gurion expressed it well when he appeared before the Peel Commission in 1937 :

“I say on behalf of the Jews that the Bible is our Mandate, the Bible which was written by us, in our own language, in Hebrew in this very country. That is our Mandate. It is only recognition of this right which was expressed in the Balfour Declaration – David Ben Gurion

September 1, 2017 By Olivier Melnick 1 Comment

Can We Prevent Another Holocaust?

Jewish history is punctuated with important milestones –both negative and positive– such as the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in A.D. 70, The Crusades started in 1096, or even the re-birth of the modern State of Israel in 1948. One of these unavoidable milestone is the Holocaust. One cannot speak of or understand Jewish history outside of the events of this Jewish catastrophe. Historians even go as far as speaking of pre and post Holocaust Jewish history. Once we realize that the 6,000,000 Jewish victims represented about 2/3 of European Jewry, it becomes obvious. In light of all the acts of anti-Semitism that have occurred globally in the last decade and the many threats against Israel as a whole, one can ask “Is another Holocaust on the horizon, and if yes, can it be prevented?”

While the Bible promises us that God will never forsake Israel (Jeremiah 31:35-37) it also tells us that God is just and disobedience will be met with discipline. From a human perspective, despots from many authoritarian countries would love to see Israel completely eradicated from the face of the earth, but from a biblical standpoint, not only will they fail, but they will also pay a hefty price (Zechariah 12:9). This doesn’t mean that they will not try, and try they have and they continue to. So, even though there might never be another Holocaust, Jewish casualties can escalate in the near future, and yet, we can all do our part to alleviate some of it by learning from the past and adjusting for the future.

We need compassion:
Not everybody bought the lies of the Nazi Regime that painted the Jewish people as vermin or a sub-race to be eradicated. Those who did, simply felt like they were doing Europe a great service by killing the unwanted, and they justified it by looking at the Jews as not being human beings. But many had compassion as they simply looked at the misfortunes of the Jewish people and felt compelled to reach out, and in many cases provide safe haven and/or safe passage to other countries. Pastor Henri Trocmé and the villagers of Le Chambon in central France had compassion for their fellow human beings. To them, humanity came first and Jewishness second. They simply cared for their fellow men. When asked why she did it, one of the villagers–a key player in this conspiracy of goodness– answered “It was the most natural thing to do!” It is estimated that 5,000 Jews were saved from the nazi claws in that little French village alone.

We need creativity:
Beyond compassion, we also need creativity such as was displayed by the people of Chambon who when they received new jewish refugees, simply heard their pastor saying that a “new shipment of Old Testaments had arrived.” Then people would decide who would take them in.
Creativity was key to fool the Nazi war machine and it came in many different ways. How about the story of Vittorio Sacerdoti, the Jewish medical doctor who worked in a small hospital near Rome during World War Two? He is credited for having invented the false disease known then as Syndrome K. The hospital received Jewish people (sick or not) and he told the “patients” to start coughing uncontrollably when Nazi officials showed up. Dr. Sacerdoti presented the coughing as the highly contagious AND lethal “Syndrome K.” His creativity allowed for 45 Jewish people to be saved. Before you ask me if it is biblically OK to lie to save a life, consider the story of Rahab the Canaanite prostitute who lied to the King of Jericho to save the Jewish spies (Joshua 2:1-8.) She received faith in the God of Israel in the process. You draw your own conclusions!

We need courage:
Compassion and creativity will not avail to much if they are not strengthened with courage. Fighting for the truth is never easy. It was not easy in the days when people fought for different truths, even though common sense has always dictated that there cannot be multiple truth co-existing. But today, truth isn’t even in the picture anymore. People don’t seek truth anywhere, anymore, they just want social justice. Whatever brand of “social justice” THEY declare is the right one, is worth fighting for. People who seek truth today about the Middle East narrative will discover an Israel that the media, Hollywood and academia refuse to accept. Insults and abuse will abound against those who dare support Israel.

We need commitment:
Modern Christian Zionists have a long road ahead as they strive to support Israel and help the Jewish people. They have compassion given to them by God and can be creative to various degrees. They also have the courage that only they can get from God reassuring them from His Word that if He promised to never forsake Israel, whatever else He promised them is a sure thing. But even when we know that God is on our side, it can remain difficult to commit to the cause. Intimidation runs rampant against those who try to fight BDS, anti-Semitism or any of the anti-Israel agendas. If God is committed to the preservation of and provision for Israel, who are we not to be committed the same?

I often wonder what would the outcome of World War Two have been in regards to Jewish casualties if more people had had compassion, creativity, courage and commitment? Not everyone could have been instrumental in saving 5,000 Jews or even 45 Jews. But what if more citizens of Europe had chosen to do something for the Jews as opposed to remain by-standers at best? I know from God’s Word that the future includes Israel, even though there will be casualties (Zechariah 13:9.) I also believe that we can all do more for the Jewish people this time around. The current hatred against my people will not stop anytime soon. In a sense, much of the world’s agenda is like an on-going Holocaust of the 21st century. But this time around, nobody can claim that they were unaware of what was being perpetrated against the Jews. All of us can do something when our heart is in the right place!

August 21, 2017 By Olivier Melnick 2 Comments

Antifa joins BDS! What could possibly go wrong?

There is currently in America a political, social and racial polarization that is reaching levels of animosity never reached before. The source for this dramatic polarization is highly debated depending on what side of the fence you position yourself. Trump supporters blame the previous administration and democrats blame the new President. Regardless of who is to be blamed for the current wedge being forced into the American people, it is changing the fabric of America at a rapid pace, and it presents some serious risks to several minorities.

One group that has emerged around the time of Mr. Trump’s victory if not slightly before, was the group self-labelled as ” Antifa”,” an abbreviation for anti-fascist or anti-fascism. They seem to be reacting and protesting Trump’s every move and policy, labelling them as fascist at the core. They claim to fight racism, homophobia, sexism and capitalism. Antifa comprises people who would position themselves on the extreme Left, also known as Alt-Left.

Fascism became a real political influence in the early part of the 20th century in Europe. It was characterized by actions that reflected a rejection of communism, liberalism and anarchism. Fascism is a strange political bird that can somehow be found flying across the spectrum from left to right–always adhering to a more totalitarian approach to government. Fascism has been notorious for the use of violence on property and people for intimidation and control.

Then comes “Antifa” to protest fascism. They take the streets and speak up against the ills of such an ideology. After all, America’s Founding Fathers gave us all Free Speech, Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Religion, so it is perfectly acceptable to protest in America. The problem is that Antifa proponents are for the most part using methods of intimidation, silencing and protest that very strongly resemble the very methods they claim to oppose. They destroy property and use violence on people just like fascists. In their own way, they are becoming an Alt-Left brand of fascism. They use violence and intimidation which are the two main pillars of terrorism, and they should be labelled as such.

In some rare, cases “Antifa” proponents who claim to be fighting for equality, free speech and tolerance, might achieve it, even without much violence or verbal abuse. Unfortunately, when it comes to the Jewish community and/or Israel’s right to exist, they are are not helping. For a while now, the Left has increasingly distanced itself from support of Israel and helped push the Palestinian narrative. Antifa’s primary goal isn’t to hurt Israel, but there is a new trend on American university campuses linking Antifa with BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions). From the standpoint of protesting fascism, oppression and colonialism, Antifa and BDS seem to be on the same page, at least politically and ideologically, and again its really bad for the Jews.

Neo-Nazis and white supremacists are a clear danger for the Jewish community, so is Antifa. And now that we are starting to see Antifa teaming up with BDS proponents, the horizon is becoming gloomier for my Jewish people who once again in our history are being sandwiched between two groups who hate them. While Antifa and BDS might not seek a joint photo-op to declare their anti-Semitism, they do line-up ideologically. At a time in our history when anti-Semitism has morphed to a hungrier and angrier beast, we do not need to be sandwiched between the Alt-Left and the Alt-Right. We already have our hands full with radical Islam and some of the evangelical Church teaching Replacement Theology and Christian Palestinianism!

Really, when Antifa joins BDS…What could possibly go RIGHT for the Jews?

March 1, 2017 By Olivier Melnick 4 Comments

Antisemitism in America: The Not-So-Dormant Volcano!

For as long as I have studied and taught against antisemitism, the United-States were never immune from the virus of Jew hatred, but they were not in the forefront either. Antisemitism has been expected from countries in the Middle East that are mostly Muslim countries. It has also been on the rise in most of Europe in the last two decades, with a recent surge in the last three years coming from all sides of the political, religious, ideological and cultural spectrums.

Things seem to be changing in America! Over 100 Jewish Community Centers (JCC) have received bomb threats in the last two months all across our nation. Several of these threats touched some of my personal friends, as well as one JCC in my own neighborhood. Fortunately, none of them was real. But how many more phone calls before one threat turns into a real explosion and innocent lives are lost? The President covered the issue in his address to Congress when he said “Recent threats targeting Jewish community centers and vandalism of Jewish cemeteries, as well as last week’s shooting in Kansas City, remind us that while we may be a nation divided on policies, we are a country that stands united in condemning hate and evil in all of its very ugly forms.”

One definition for “terrorism” reads “the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.” When I look at the recent bombs threats against multiple Jewish communities, and how they disrupted the peace of regular civilians, I cannot help but think that they were acts of terrorism. The intimidation in a bomb threat is very high as nobody can ever assume that it is a hoax, especially in the current world we live in. I also find the act of making a threatening anonymous phone call very cowardly. Antisemitism can happen in words and/or deeds. So far, the bomb threats have only been words but they can be equally damaging.

Two Jewish cemeteries in Missouri and Pennsylvania have also been desecrated with over 250 tombstones turned over. No muslim or Christian cemeteries were affected in the same period of time, just like no Muslim or Christian Centers were affected either. These attacks–strangely reminiscent of the 1930s and 1940s in Europe– were clearly targeted against Jewish people. These qualify as antisemitism in deeds the same way that several graffiti recently written on various Jewish properties do.

This may come as a surprise to many Americans, but these acts are not happening in a vacuum. I have been documenting such acts against American Jews since 1999. They were fewer and further in between than today…by a long shot. America is a huge country and isolated incidents of antisemitism have never made the front page of the papers or the eight o’clock news. Yet they happened all across the USA. This recent surge is symptomatic of a very serious problem but it can also be beneficial to many.

As surprising as it might sound, there are still many in America and around the world who either find it difficult to believe that antisemitism exist or who are simply unaware of it. The recent wave of events has propelled the issue to the forefront of the news, and it needs to park there for a while. Americans must understand that Jewish people are becoming a real target in the United-Stated like they have been in the Middle East and Europe for a while now. Outside from the obvious need to show our support to a scared community, this also should serve as a wake-up call for our country and the rest of the world. Antisemitism is back, it is growing again, and it is here to stay.

We must boldly denounce this wave of hatred against the Jewish people. Our current administration is going to have to do more than provide us with a few comforting words. When Mr. Trump makes it so clear that we are fighting Islamic radicalism and terrorism, he also needs to severely punish the perpetrators of such crimes.

Antisemitism is indeed the “Longest Hatred” and has been somewhat of a dormant volcano in America. The recent months have shown that the lava of Jew hatred is resurfacing out of a volcano that was never dead. I am not certain that we can stop the volcano, but I know that we can better protect the potential victims from its lava.

Hitler called his plan for the eradication of the Jewish people “the solution to the Jewish problem,” and he almost succeeded. The current surge of attacks against Jews in America could lead to another “solution to the Jewish problem,” if left unchecked. Europe is already seeing Jewish people being killed again. The evangelical community and all people of good will need to step up and reach out to help their Jewish friends, lest we become 21st century by-standers and facilitate what I call End-Times antisemitism.

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